Barcelona's International Break After 3-1 Victory Over Sevilla

Barcelona head into an odd, elongated international break with the kind of result every coach craves in his back pocket: a 3-1 win away to Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan and the sense that things are beginning to click under Hansi Flick.

The victory closes this early chapter of the season on a high, but what comes next is anything but routine.

Flick’s skeleton crew

This is not a normal international window. It is longer, more fractured, and it leaves Flick with a training ground that will feel almost deserted.

According to SPORT, the German coach will have just six senior players at his disposal in the coming days: Gavi, Gerard Martin, Alejandro Balde, Gabriel Jesus, Brian Farinas and Wojciech Szczesny.

That list does not include the walking wounded. Joan Garcia, Andreas Christensen and Frenkie de Jong will also remain at the Ciutat Esportiva, though their days will be dominated by recovery work rather than tactical drills.

So Flick’s “group” is essentially half a team, a thin core around which he can only sketch ideas while the rest of the squad scatters across the globe.

Barcelona will train from Tuesday to Friday. Four sessions, then silence. From 28 September to 4 October, the remaining players are granted a full week off, with the entire squad due back on 5 October, once international duty is done and the season restarts in earnest.

For Flick, it is a brief window to work closely with a handful of first-teamers before the rhythm of club football returns at full speed.

Gavi refuses a day off

Monday was officially a rest day. The players stayed away. Even Flick did not set foot on the training pitch.

Gavi did.

The midfielder turned up to work voluntarily, putting in extra effort while the rest of the dressing room recharged. Joan Garcia and Christensen were also at the facilities, continuing their rehabilitation as they fight to rejoin the group.

Fermin Lopez made only a fleeting appearance, dropping by the training ground to collect some belongings before disappearing again into the break.

On Tuesday, the quiet ends and the first team resume collective work – such as it is with only six fit outfielders and a goalkeeper.

Raphinha’s very different “break”

While those left in Catalonia can switch off and breathe, Raphinha’s calendar looks nothing like a holiday.

He leaves Barcelona in the best form of his career. A hat-trick against Sevilla. Top of the La Liga scoring charts. Confidence pouring out of him.

Now he trades La Liga for a world tour with Brazil.

The forward will travel almost halfway around the planet, with two games scheduled in Australia before another friendly in India. It is a punishing itinerary, but he boards the plane as one of the hottest players in Europe, not a man looking for rest.

Once that whirlwind is over, he will fly back to Barcelona and straight into a season that, for him and for Flick’s team, has opened with a promise they cannot afford to waste.